Media Magazine reading
Media Magazine 55 has an overview of technology journalist Bill Thompson’s conference presentation on ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ It’s an excellent summary of the internet’s brief history and its impact on society. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM55 and scroll to page 13 to read the article ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ Answer the following questions:
1) Looking over the article as a whole, what are some of the positive developments due to the internet highlighted by Bill Thompson?
Net is open to innovation like email, the web, Spotify or Snapchat.
The internet lets any two connected computers exchange data in the form of binary messages.
The network connects us to other people, it provides a great source of information, it can be used for campaigning and political action, to draw attention to abuses and fight for human rights. It’s a great place for gaming and education, which can also be used to make a lot of money (for a few people) as well as a place where you can meet your friends.
2) What are the negatives or dangers linked to the development of the internet?
The network is becoming invisible, the network doesn’t care what the data means or how it is used. A lot of bullying and abuse takes place there. There’s pornography that you don’t want to see, and illegal images of child abuse that you might come across. Extremists and radicals can use the network to try to influence people to join their cause, and fraud, scams, ripoffs and malicious software are everywhere. Then there’s the dark web, made up of websites and online services accessed via specialised browsers and tools that make it very hard to identify who is using them, which is used to sell drugs and for other illegal activity.
3) What does ‘open technology’ refer to? Do you agree with the idea of ‘open technology’?
The idea of ‘openness’ lies at the centre of this debate: I believe that if we want an open society based around principles of equality of opportunity, social justice and free expression, we need to build it on technologies which are themselves ‘open’, and that this is the only way to encourage a diverse online culture that allows all voices to be heard.
4) Bill Thompson outlines some of the challenges and questions for the future of the internet. What are they?
We know you care about privacy – and why wouldn’t you, I certainly do. So how can the network deliver that? We know you care about other people around the world, and want a fairer, more just world – so how can the network help there? We know you want to understand the world and engage with it, so how do we deliver news media that can operate effectively online and still make money?
5) Where do you stand on the use and regulation of the internet? Should there be more control or more openness? Why?
I think that everything has to have its limits and the internet has already given us so many infomation about so many topics that we can barely manage to absorb that, and I think that's enough for a normal user. Media used to be controled in some part because of the safety. Too much information is just as bad as safely picked fake news.
Clay Shirky: Here Comes Everybody
Clay Shirky’s book Here Comes Everybody charts the way social media and connectivity is changing the world. Read Chapter 3 of his book, ‘Everyone is a media outlet’, and answer the following questions:
1) How does Shirky define a ‘profession’ and why does it apply to the traditional newspaper industry?
A profession exists to solve a hard problem, one that requires some sort of specialization. Newspaper executives are responsible for deciding what goes on the front page. In these cases, the scarcity of the resource itself creates the need for a professional class there are few libraries but many patrons, there are few channels but many viewers.
2) What is the question facing the newspaper industry now the internet has created a “new ecosystem”?
Most organizations believe they have much more freedom of action and much more ability to shape their future than they actually do, and evidence that the ecosystem is changing in ways they can't control usually creates considerable anxiety, even if the change is good for society as a whole.
3) Why did Trent Lott’s speech in 2002 become news?
This would have been a classic story of negative press coverage altering a political career-except that the press didn't actually cover the story, at least not at first. Indeed, the press almost completely missed the story. This isn't to say that they intentionally ignored it or even actively suppressed it; several reporters from national news media heard Lott speak, but his remark simply didn't fit the standard template of news.
4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?
Mass amateurization is a result of the radical spread of expressive capabilities, and the most obvious precedent is the one that gave birth to the modern world: the spread of the printing press five centuries ago.
5) Shirky suggests that: “The same idea, published in dozens or hundreds of places, can have an amplifying effect that outweighs the verdict from the smaller number of professional outlets.” How can this be linked to the current media landscape and particularly ‘fake news’?
The idea of quality not quantity has become very vague in today's society. We can buy likes and 'followers' on Instagram just to appeal to the masses. it's hard to recognise what's true and what is not on social media right now and the audience trusts what seems to be the most reliable - the quantity.
6) What does Shirky suggest about the social effects of technological change? Does this mean we are currently in the midst of the internet “revolution” or “chaos” Shirky mentions?
7) Shirky says that “anyone can be a publisher… [and] anyone can be a journalist”. What does this mean and why is it important?
It means that the structure of mass media is changing. "end of the audience', the "one to many" structure is changing and the flow of infornation is becoming more and more free and flexible. It's important because it shows how fast the world is changing and that it might be one of the most important changes in this dacade.
8) What does Shirky suggest regarding the hundred years following the printing press revolution? Is there any evidence of this “intellectual and political chaos” in recent global events following the internet revolution?
Arrest of Josh Wolf, a video blogger who refused to hand over video of a 2005 demonstration he observed in San Francisco. He served 226 days in prison, far longer than Judith Miller, before being released.
9) Why is photography a good example of ‘mass amateurisation’?
The twin effects are an increase in good amateur photographs and a threat to the market for professionals. JeffHowe, author of the forthcoming Crowdsourcing, describes iStockPhoto.com, a Web-based clearinghouse for photographers to offer their work for use in advertising and promotional materials (a practice called stock photography).
10) What do you think of Shirky’s ideas on the ‘End of audience’? Is this era of ‘mass amateurisation’ a positive thing? Or are we in a period of “intellectual and political chaos” where things are more broken than fixed?
I think that it's definitely something in between, but if we don't start to control our news consubtion and but quantity as the trust filar we won't be able to trust the news and media will become a useless source.
A/A* extension work: read Chapter 1 ‘It takes a village to find a phone’ and Chapter 4 ‘Publish, then filter’ to further understand Shirky’s ideas concerning the ‘End of audience’.
Media Magazine 55 has an overview of technology journalist Bill Thompson’s conference presentation on ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ It’s an excellent summary of the internet’s brief history and its impact on society. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM55 and scroll to page 13 to read the article ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ Answer the following questions:
1) Looking over the article as a whole, what are some of the positive developments due to the internet highlighted by Bill Thompson?
Net is open to innovation like email, the web, Spotify or Snapchat.
The internet lets any two connected computers exchange data in the form of binary messages.
The network connects us to other people, it provides a great source of information, it can be used for campaigning and political action, to draw attention to abuses and fight for human rights. It’s a great place for gaming and education, which can also be used to make a lot of money (for a few people) as well as a place where you can meet your friends.
2) What are the negatives or dangers linked to the development of the internet?
The network is becoming invisible, the network doesn’t care what the data means or how it is used. A lot of bullying and abuse takes place there. There’s pornography that you don’t want to see, and illegal images of child abuse that you might come across. Extremists and radicals can use the network to try to influence people to join their cause, and fraud, scams, ripoffs and malicious software are everywhere. Then there’s the dark web, made up of websites and online services accessed via specialised browsers and tools that make it very hard to identify who is using them, which is used to sell drugs and for other illegal activity.
3) What does ‘open technology’ refer to? Do you agree with the idea of ‘open technology’?
The idea of ‘openness’ lies at the centre of this debate: I believe that if we want an open society based around principles of equality of opportunity, social justice and free expression, we need to build it on technologies which are themselves ‘open’, and that this is the only way to encourage a diverse online culture that allows all voices to be heard.
4) Bill Thompson outlines some of the challenges and questions for the future of the internet. What are they?
We know you care about privacy – and why wouldn’t you, I certainly do. So how can the network deliver that? We know you care about other people around the world, and want a fairer, more just world – so how can the network help there? We know you want to understand the world and engage with it, so how do we deliver news media that can operate effectively online and still make money?
5) Where do you stand on the use and regulation of the internet? Should there be more control or more openness? Why?
I think that everything has to have its limits and the internet has already given us so many infomation about so many topics that we can barely manage to absorb that, and I think that's enough for a normal user. Media used to be controled in some part because of the safety. Too much information is just as bad as safely picked fake news.
Clay Shirky’s book Here Comes Everybody charts the way social media and connectivity is changing the world. Read Chapter 3 of his book, ‘Everyone is a media outlet’, and answer the following questions:
1) How does Shirky define a ‘profession’ and why does it apply to the traditional newspaper industry?
A profession exists to solve a hard problem, one that requires some sort of specialization. Newspaper executives are responsible for deciding what goes on the front page. In these cases, the scarcity of the resource itself creates the need for a professional class there are few libraries but many patrons, there are few channels but many viewers.
2) What is the question facing the newspaper industry now the internet has created a “new ecosystem”?
Most organizations believe they have much more freedom of action and much more ability to shape their future than they actually do, and evidence that the ecosystem is changing in ways they can't control usually creates considerable anxiety, even if the change is good for society as a whole.
3) Why did Trent Lott’s speech in 2002 become news?
This would have been a classic story of negative press coverage altering a political career-except that the press didn't actually cover the story, at least not at first. Indeed, the press almost completely missed the story. This isn't to say that they intentionally ignored it or even actively suppressed it; several reporters from national news media heard Lott speak, but his remark simply didn't fit the standard template of news.
4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?
Mass amateurization is a result of the radical spread of expressive capabilities, and the most obvious precedent is the one that gave birth to the modern world: the spread of the printing press five centuries ago.
5) Shirky suggests that: “The same idea, published in dozens or hundreds of places, can have an amplifying effect that outweighs the verdict from the smaller number of professional outlets.” How can this be linked to the current media landscape and particularly ‘fake news’?
The idea of quality not quantity has become very vague in today's society. We can buy likes and 'followers' on Instagram just to appeal to the masses. it's hard to recognise what's true and what is not on social media right now and the audience trusts what seems to be the most reliable - the quantity.
6) What does Shirky suggest about the social effects of technological change? Does this mean we are currently in the midst of the internet “revolution” or “chaos” Shirky mentions?
7) Shirky says that “anyone can be a publisher… [and] anyone can be a journalist”. What does this mean and why is it important?
It means that the structure of mass media is changing. "end of the audience', the "one to many" structure is changing and the flow of infornation is becoming more and more free and flexible. It's important because it shows how fast the world is changing and that it might be one of the most important changes in this dacade.
8) What does Shirky suggest regarding the hundred years following the printing press revolution? Is there any evidence of this “intellectual and political chaos” in recent global events following the internet revolution?
Arrest of Josh Wolf, a video blogger who refused to hand over video of a 2005 demonstration he observed in San Francisco. He served 226 days in prison, far longer than Judith Miller, before being released.
9) Why is photography a good example of ‘mass amateurisation’?
The twin effects are an increase in good amateur photographs and a threat to the market for professionals. JeffHowe, author of the forthcoming Crowdsourcing, describes iStockPhoto.com, a Web-based clearinghouse for photographers to offer their work for use in advertising and promotional materials (a practice called stock photography).
10) What do you think of Shirky’s ideas on the ‘End of audience’? Is this era of ‘mass amateurisation’ a positive thing? Or are we in a period of “intellectual and political chaos” where things are more broken than fixed?
I think that it's definitely something in between, but if we don't start to control our news consubtion and but quantity as the trust filar we won't be able to trust the news and media will become a useless source.
A/A* extension work: read Chapter 1 ‘It takes a village to find a phone’ and Chapter 4 ‘Publish, then filter’ to further understand Shirky’s ideas concerning the ‘End of audience’.
Comments
Post a Comment